Information processing apparatus and setting information management method

ABSTRACT

A setting information management method comprises: receiving a command related to setting information stored in a storage from a network, changing the setting information based on the command, changing the setting information based on an input from a user using a setting screen displayed by a display unit when the change of the setting information based on the command is invalid, and displaying, by using the display unit, the setting screen in a mode that the user is unable to change the setting information displayed on the setting screen when a change of the setting information based on the command is valid.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of theInternational Patent Application No. PCT/JP2011/0052320, filed on Feb.4, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a management technique of setting informationof an information processing apparatus.

BACKGROUND

Currently, portable information processing apparatuses called mobilepersonal computers, netbooks, and the like (hereinafter, simply writtenas “computers”) are widely used, and opportunities of using thecomputers not only in the office, but also outside of the office, suchas during transit and at the office of a customer, are increasing inbusiness scenes. On the other hand, problems in the security of thecomputers are drawing attention. For example, when a computer is stolenor lost, personal information, customer information, and the like storedin the computer may be leaked.

Therefore, computers provided with functions of deleting or not allowingreferencing information (data) stored in the computers and locking thecomputers by remote operation (hereinafter, written as “remote operationfunctions”) are put into practical use. In such a computer, acommunication module for wireless communication, such as a PersonalHandy phone System (PHS) and a mobile phone, is capable ofcommunication, regardless of an operating state of a Central ProcessingUnit (CPU), such as power off and suspended. As a result, when a BasicInput Output System (BIOS) wirelessly receives an instruction commandfrom a remote location through the communication module, the BIOSdeletes the data in a hard disk according to the instruction commandeven if an Operating System (OS) is not activated.

The BIOS is a program stored in a Read Only Memory (ROM), such as aflash memory, on a motherboard and executed at the activation of thecomputer, and the BIOS controls peripheral hardware, such as a diskdrive and a video card. Therefore, the BIOS includes various pieces ofsetting information, such as setting of use or non-use of hardware,activation order setting, and power setting. A technique for changingthe BIOS setting information by remote operation is also proposed.

Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-229798

Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-265023

Patent document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-035947

Patent document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-325171

Patent document 5: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-015781

Non Patent document 1: Kenji Sakamaki, Hideyuki Nagatoshi, MasakiMukouchi, Kazuaki Nimura, “Anti-theft Solution for Mobile PersonalComputers: CLEARSURE”, FUJITSU. 61, 2, p. 94-99, March 2010

The BIOS setting information may include a remote operation setting forswitching whether to enable or disable the remote operation functions.In such a case, for example, the remote operation functions are set to“enabled (valid)” (ON) in a computer that can be carried outside of theoffice, and the remote operation functions are set to “disabled(invalid)” (OFF) in a computer fixed and operated in the office.

In general, the BIOS setting information is set according to anoperational policy of the owner of the computer. For example, if theowner of the computer is a company, a management department of aninformation system determines the operational policy, and the user(employee) of each computer performs the BIOS setting of the computer ofthe user according to the operational policy.

However, in such an operation, since each employee takes charge of theBIOS setting, the BIOS setting may not be performed in accordance withthe operational policy in a computer used by an employee who does notfollow the operational policy, for example. As a result, if the computeris stolen and the remote operation functions need to be executed, theremote operation functions may not be able to be used.

To handle the problem, an operation of distributing computers to theemployees is performed, the computers including BIOS setting informationappropriately set by the information system manager. However, if anemployee changes the setting of the BIOS setting information, thecomputer is not compatible with the operational policy after all.

There is a computer including a BIOS password to distinguish between theuser who can change the BIOS setting information and the other users.According to the computer, an operation is possible, in which only theinformation system manager who knows the password changes the BIOSsetting information, and general employees are not allowed to change theBIOS setting information.

However, in such an operation, if the BIOS setting information needs tobe changed even slightly such as when the computer does not normallyoperate, the employee needs to hand over the computer to the informationsystem manager. In other words, the information system manager needs tomanage the operation, such as adjustment and repair, regarding allcomputers. Such an operation is unrealistic.

There is also a computer provided with functions such as the remoteoperation functions, in which a contract is signed with the user bysetting a period of usage in advance at the time of purchase or at thestart of usage. In such a computer, for example, the setting informationrelated to the functions as a target of contract needs to be changed to“disabled”. However, when the change of the setting information isdependent on the user, a trouble such as involuntary execution of thetarget functions may occur, if the user forgets the change operation.

SUMMARY

One of embodiments of the invention is an information processingapparatus, including:

a storage to store setting information;

a communication controller to receive a command related to the settinginformation transmitted from a network;

a first controller to change the setting information stored in thestorage based on the command received by the communication controller;and

a second controller to change the setting information stored in thestorage unit based on an input from a user using a setting screendisplayed by a display unit, wherein the second controller controls thedisplay unit so that the display unit displays the setting screen at amode that the user is unable to change the setting information displayedon the setting screen when a change of the setting information based onthe command is valid.

The other embodiment of the invention is at least one of settinginformation management method by using the information processingapparatus and a non-transitory computer readable medium executing asetting information management process.

The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attainedby means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out inthe claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and arenot restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware (H/W) configuration in acomputer of a embodiment 1;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a data structure example of BIOSsetting information;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a processing configuration of aBIOS;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an operation example at remoteoperation command reception;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an operation example at BIOS screenactivation;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a BIOS screen when afixation flag is ON;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the BIOS screen when thefixation flag is OFF and a lock flag is ON;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the BIOS screen when thefixation flag is OFF and the lock flag is OFF; and

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a modified example of the operationat the BIOS screen activation.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an information processing apparatus (hereinafter, simplywritten as “computer”) as an embodiment will be described with specificexamples. The present invention is not limited to the configurations ofthe following examples.

<Embodiment 1>

Hereinafter, an embodiment 1 of the computer as an embodiment will bedescribed.

[Apparatus Configuration]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware (H/W) configuration in acomputer of the embodiment 1. A computer (information processingapparatus) 1 of the embodiment 1 is an information processing terminal,such as a so-called personal computer, and includes an input apparatus,such as a keyboard and a touch panel as user interfaces, a displaymonitor, and the like (not illustrated). The present embodiment does notlimit the user interfaces.

The computer 1 includes, in the main body, a Central Processing Unit(CPU) 10, a Random Access Memory (RAM) 11, an Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 12,a BIOS-Read Only Memory (BIOS-ROM) 13, a non-volatile memory 14, acommunication control unit (communication controller) 15, an inputapparatus controller 16, a display controller 17, and the like. FIG. 1illustrates only part of the configuration. Although FIG. 1 illustratesthat the elements are connected on one bus, the elements are generallyconnected by a plurality of buses, such as Peripheral ComponentsInterconnect (PCI) buses and Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA)buses.

The RAM 11 is a main storage apparatus. The HDD 12 is a storageapparatus (device) that stores user data, OS, various applications, andthe like. The BIOS-ROM 13 is a storage apparatus that stores BIOSprograms and is implemented by, for example, a flash ROM.

The display controller 17 is a display controller to control a displaymonitor. The display controller 17 generates a display signal accordingto display data sent from the CPU 10 and sends the display signal to thedisplay monitor to display a desired screen. The input apparatuscontroller 16 receives an input signal corresponding to a user operationsent from the input apparatus and sends data according to the inputsignal to the CPU 10.

The CPU 10 is a processor that implements operation of the computer 1.When activated, the CPU 10 loads, on the RAM 11, a BIOS program storedin the BIOS-ROM 13 to execute the BIOS program. The CPU 10 furtherexecutes the OS (Operating System) and various applications stored inthe HDD 12. Hereinafter, a thing implemented by the execution of theBIOS program will be written as “BIOS”.

The CPU 10 controls the display controller 17 according to the BIOS, theOS, the applications, and the like to display various screens on thedisplay monitor. The CPU 10 also receives, through the input apparatuscontroller 16, a user input to the screen displayed on the displaymonitor and executes a process according to the input.

The BIOS controls the connected hardware, such as the HDD 12, the inputapparatus controller 16, and the display controller 17, according toBIOS setting information stored in the non-volatile memory 14. The BIOSis a program initially executed at the activation of the apparatus, andafter a predetermined process is applied to the connected hardware, theBIOS carries out activation of the OS.

Meanwhile, when the BIOS receives a predetermined input through theinput apparatus controller 16, the BIOS displays a setting screen(hereinafter, written as “BIOS screen”) for displaying, on the displaymonitor, the BIOS setting information that is allowed to change. Thepredetermined input is, for example, a predetermined key input. The BIOSscreen will be described later. The BIOS receives a user input to theBIOS screen through the input apparatus controller 16, and when the userinput indicates change of the BIOS setting information, the BIOS updatesthe target BIOS setting information stored in the non-volatile memory14.

The BIOS also receives a remote operation command transmitted from theother computer through the communication control unit 15 and updates thetarget BIOS setting information stored in the non-volatile memory 14according to the content of the remote operation command.

The communication control unit 15 controls a communication module (notillustrated) for wireless communication, such as a PHS and a mobilephone. The communication module may be implemented separately from thecommunication control unit 15 or may be integrated with thecommunication control unit 15. The communication control unit 15 isconnected to a battery (not illustrated) and is capable of operating thecommunication module regardless of the operating state of the main bodyof the computer 1. Hereinafter, the communication module and thecommunication control unit 15 may not be distinguished and may becollectively written as the “communication control unit 15”.

The communication control unit 15 is connected to and capable ofcommunicating with the other computer, such as a server apparatus 7,through a network 5, such as a wireless communication network and apublic network. The server apparatus 7 is a computer for remotelyoperating the computer 1 in the embodiment 1. The server apparatus 7transmits a predetermined remote operation command to the computer 1 inthe embodiment 1 to remotely operate the computer 1.

The remote operation command is sent using an SMS (Short MessageService), for example. Specifically, a predetermined format for remoteoperation is determined, and the server apparatus 7 sends a message inthe predetermined format to the computer 1. The present embodiment doesnot limit the method of implementing the remote operation command. Theembodiment 1 illustrates an example in which a remote operation disablecommand, a remote operation disable fixation command, and a remoteoperation deletion command are provided as the remote operationcommands.

When the remote operation command transmitted from the server apparatus7 is received, the communication control unit 15 notifies the CPU 10 ofthe reception to transfer the remote operation command to the BIOS. Whenthe communication control unit 15 receives a remote operation commandwhen the CPU 10 is in a stopped state, such as a power-off state and asuspended state, the communication control unit 15 activates the CPU 10.Since the BIOS is executed when the CPU 10 is activated, thecommunication control unit 15 sends the received remote operationcommand to the BIOS.

The non-volatile memory 14 is a storage device implemented by aComplementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) or the like. Variouspieces of BIOS setting information are stored in the non-volatile memory14. The present embodiment does not limit the memory for storing theBIOS setting information to the CMOS memory. The BIOS settinginformation includes various settings related to the operatingenvironment of the computer 1, such as settings related to the hardwareincluding the keyboard, the display, the CPU, or the like, as well assettings, such as priorities of activated devices, system time, and usedlanguage.

In the embodiment 1, the BIOS setting information includes settinginformation related to locking and data deletion of the computer 1, suchas (1) a remote lock/deletion function, (2) activation when the wirelessswitch is OFF, (3) activation at outside the communication range, (4) alocal lock/deletion function, (5) a local lock/deletion operation, and(6) an upper limit of the number of times the password can be input.Hereinafter, the settings may be written as “lock-related settings”.Each of the pieces of information (1) to (6) is an example of “a pieceof setting information.”

The remote lock/deletion function setting is a setting for whether toenable (valid) or disable (invalid) the remote operation functions.Therefore, hereinafter, the remote lock/deletion function setting may bewritten as a “remote operation setting”. The setting for enabling theremote operation functions will be written as “ON”, and the setting fordisabling the remote operation setting will be written as “OFF”. Theremote operation setting can be remotely set to OFF from anothercomputer by a remote operation disable command and a remote operationdisable fixation command among the remote operation commands.

When the remote operation setting is set to OFF, the BIOS switches thecommunication control unit 15 to the stopped state, and a state of notreceiving the remote operation command is set. The switch of thecommunication control unit 15 to the stopped state is implemented bystopping the power supply to the communication control unit 15, forexample. When the remote operation setting is set to OFF, the otherlock-related settings (activation when the wireless switch is OFF,activation outside of the communication range, local lock/deletionfunction, local lock/deletion operation, and upper limit of the numberof times the password can be input) are disabled.

When the remote operation setting is set to ON, the communicationcontrol unit 15 sets the communication module to a standby state at alltimes. After determining whether the received command is the remoteoperation command, the communication control unit 15 transfers theremote operation command to the BIOS. Subsequently, the BIOS executes aprocess according to the content of the remote operation command. Forexample, when the remote operation command is the remote operationdeletion command, the BIOS executes a process of deleting the data ofthe HDD 12 or a process of not allowing referring to the data of the HDD12. The process of not allowing referring to the data is, for example, aprocess of deleting a key for decryption when the HDD 12 is encryptingthe stored data.

The activation setting when the wireless switch is OFF is a settingindicating whether to activate the computer 1 when a hardware switch forswitching the operating state (ON or OFF) of the communication controlunit 15 is OFF. The user switches the hardware switch when the userenters a location where emission of radio waves is prohibited such as ina hospital and an airplane, for example. The activation setting outsideof the communication range is a setting indicating whether to enable ordisable the activation of the computer 1 when the computer 1 ispositioned outside of the communication range.

The local lock/deletion function setting is a setting indicating whetherto enable the function when a BIOS password is wrongly input for apredetermined number of times. The BIOS password is a password foraccessing the BIOS setting information, and input of the BIOS passwordis prompted in changing the BIOS setting information. An operation modewhen the local lock/deletion function setting is enabled and the BIOSpassword is wrongly input for the predetermined number of times is setto the local lock/deletion operation setting. For example, deletion ofthe data in the HDD or locking of the computer 1 is set for theoperation mode. An upper limit of the number of times the input error ofthe BIOS password is permitted is set to the setting of the upper limitof the number of times the password can be input.

A setting name, state data, and the like are stored for each of theseitems in the BIOS setting information. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustratinga data structure example of the BIOS setting information. As illustratedin FIG. 2, for example, a character string “Remote Lock/DeletionFunction” is stored as the setting name for the remote lock/deletionfunction setting, and a numerical value 0 indicating OFF or a numericalvalue 1 indicating ON is stored as the state data. Similarly, acharacter string indicating the setting name and state data are storedfor each of the other remote operation settings. Although a naturallanguage (such as ON and OFF) is used to write the state data of theitems in the BIOS setting information, the state data as illustrated inFIG. 2 is stored in the non-volatile memory 14 as data that can berecognized by the computer 1.

By the way, the remote operation setting among the lock-related settingsfurther includes a lock flag and a fixation flag. The lock flag and thefixation flag are used to switch whether to display the settinginformation of the lock-related settings on the BIOS screen in a changepossible state. Each of the fixation frag and the lock flag is anexample of “attached information.” The fixation flag is set only by theremote operation disable fixation command, and once the fixation flag isset to ON, the lock-related settings are not allowed to changethereafter. When the fixation flag is set to ON, the remote operationsetting is displayed on the BIOS screen in a change impossible state,regardless of the state of the lock flag. The lock flag is linked to thestate data of the remote operation setting. The lock flag is set to ONwhen the remote operation setting is ON, and the lock flag is set to OFFwhen the remote operation setting is OFF. When the lock flag is set toON, the setting information of the lock-related settings is displayed onthe BIOS screen in the change impossible state.

[BIOS]

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a processing configuration of theBIOS. As described, the CPU 10 executes the BIOS program to implement aBIOS 20 with the processing configuration as illustrated in FIG. 3. TheBIOS 20 includes an initialization unit 21, an interface unit 22, asetup unit 23, and the like. These processing units are implemented asconstituent elements of software called tasks, processes, threads, andthe like.

The initialization unit 21 refers to the BIOS setting information storedin the non-volatile memory 14 to initialize the connected hardware.Since the initialization unit 21 can execute a process of a generalBIOS, the description is simplified here.

The interface unit 22 analyzes the remote operation command sent fromthe communication control unit 15 and executes a process according tothe content of the remote operation command. Specifically, when theremote operation command is the remote operation deletion command, theinterface unit 22 executes a process of deleting the data in the HDD 12or a process of not allowing referring to the data in the HDD 12.

When the remote operation command is the remote operation disablecommand, the interface unit 22 sets the state of the remote operationsetting in the BIOS setting information to OFF to set the communicationcontrol unit 15 to the stopped state. As a result, the communicationcontrol unit 15 does not receive the remote operation commandthereafter. When the remote operation command is the remote operationdisable fixation command, the interface unit 22 sets the state of theremote operation setting to OFF and sets the fixation flag to ON to setthe communication control unit 15 to the stopped state.

When a predetermined input is received through the input apparatuscontroller 16, the setup unit 23 sends the data of the BIOS screen tothe display controller 17 to display the BIOS screen on the displaymonitor. To generate the data of the BIOS screen, the setup unit 23reflects the BIOS setting information loaded from the non-volatilememory 14 on the screen data.

When the setup unit 23 loads the remote operation setting in the BIOSsetting information, the setup unit 23 sets the lock flag to ON when thestate of the remote operation setting is set to OFF and sets the lockflag to OFF when the state data is set to ON.

The setup unit 23 switches the display state of the setting informationrelated to the lock-related settings on the BIOS screen according to thelock flag and the fixation flag of the remote operation setting. Thedisplay state indicates the change possible state or the changeimpossible state. The setup unit 23 generates data of the BIOS screenfor displaying the setting information by the change possible state orthe change impossible state and sends the data to the display controller17.

The setup unit 23 receives a user input to the BIOS screen through theinput apparatus controller 16, and when the user input indicates changeof the BIOS setting information, the setup unit 23 updates the targetBIOS setting information stored in the non-volatile memory 14.

[Operation Example]

Hereinafter, an operation example of the computer 1 in the embodiment 1will be described.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an operation example at remoteoperation command reception. When a remote operation command istransmitted from the server apparatus 7, the communication control unit15 of the computer 1 receives the remote operation command (S41). Thecommunication control unit 15 (including the communication module) isenergized even when the CPU 10 is in the stopped state.

When the remote operation command is received, the communication controlunit 15 determines whether the CPU 10 is activated (S42). When the CPU10 is activated (S42; YES), the communication control unit 15 transfersthe remote operation command to the BIOS 20. On the other hand, when theCPU is stopped (S42; NO), the communication control unit 15 activatesthe CPU 10 (S43). When the CPU 10 is activated, the BIOS 20 isactivated.

In the BIOS 20, the interface unit 22 receives the remote operationcommand from the communication control unit 15. The interface unit 22analyzes the remote operation command (S44). The interface unit 22confirms that the remote operation command is the remote operationdisable command or the remote operation disable fixation command (S45).

When the interface unit 22 confirms that the remote operation command isthe remote operation disable command or the remote operation disablefixation command (S45; YES), the interface unit 22 sets the state of theremote operation setting in the BIOS setting information to OFF (S46).After setting the state of the remote operation setting to OFF, theinterface unit 22 sets the communication control unit 15 to the stoppedstate.

The interface unit 22 further checks whether the remote operationcommand is the remote operation disable fixation command (S47). When theremote operation command is the remote operation disable fixationcommand (S47; YES), the interface unit 22 sets the fixation flag of theremote operation setting in the BIOS setting information to ON (S48).

When the interface unit 22 confirms that the remote operation command isnot one of the remote operation disable command and the remote operationdisable fixation command (S45; NO), the interface unit 22 determineswhether the remote operation command is the remote operation deletioncommand (S49). When the remote operation command is the remote operationdeletion command (S49; YES), the interface unit 22 executes a process ofdeleting the data or a process of not allowing referring to the data inthe HDD 12 (S50).

In the operation example of the embodiment 1, the state of the remoteoperation setting is not checked when the remote operation command isreceived. This is because the state of the remote operation setting isset to ON when the remote operation command is received. However, theoperating state of the communication control unit 15 may not beswitched, and the state of the remote operation setting may be checkedwhen the remote operation command is received.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an operation example at BIOS screenactivation. When a predetermined input is performed from an inputapparatus, such as a keyboard, during the activation of the BIOS 20, theBIOS 20 receives the input through the input apparatus controller 16(S51). When the predetermined input is received, the BIOS 20 activatesthe setup unit 23.

The setup unit 23 refers to the remote operation setting in the BIOSsetting information (S52). When the state of the remote operationsetting indicates ON (S52; YES), the setup unit 23 sets the lock flag ofthe remote operation setting to ON (S53). On the other hand, when thestate of the remote operation setting indicates OFF (S52; NO), the setupunit 23 sets the lock flag of the remote operation setting to OFF (S54).

When the setting of the lock flag of the remote operation setting isfinished, the setup unit 23 loads the lock-related setting informationin the BIOS setting information (S55).

The setup unit 23 determines whether the fixation flag of the remoteoperation setting in the loaded lock-related setting informationindicates ON (S56). When the fixation flag of the remote operationsetting indicates ON (S56; YES), the setup unit 23 generates data of theBIOS screen to display the remote operation setting in the changeimpossible state. The setup unit 23 sends the generated BIOS screen datato the display controller 17 to display, on the display monitor, theBIOS screen (see FIG. 6) for displaying the remote operation setting inthe change impossible state (S58).

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the BIOS screen when thefixation flag is ON. As illustrated in FIG. 6, when the fixation flag ofthe remote operation setting is set to ON, the remote operation setting(remote lock/deletion function setting) is displayed on the BIOS screenin the change impossible state. The fixation flag can indicate ON onlywhen the remote operation disable fixation command is issued. Therefore,when the fixation flag indicates ON, the remote operation setting in theOFF state is displayed on the BIOS screen in the change impossiblestate, and the other lock-related settings are displayed in a disablestate (gray display state).

When the fixation flag of the remote operation setting indicates OFF(S56; NO), the setup unit 23 further determines whether the lock flag ofthe remote operation setting indicates ON (S57). When the lock flag ofthe remote operation setting indicates ON (S57; YES), the setup unit 23generates data of the BIOS screen to display the loaded lock-relatedsetting information in the change impossible state. The setup unit 23sends the generated BIOS screen data to the display controller 17 todisplay, on the display monitor, the BIOS screen (see FIG. 7) fordisplaying the lock-related setting information in the change impossiblestate (S58).

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the BIOS screen when thefixation flag is OFF and the lock flag is ON. As illustrated in FIG. 7,when the fixation flag is set to OFF and the lock flag is set to ON, thelock-related settings are displayed on the BIOS screen in the changeimpossible state. The lock flag indicates ON when the remote operationsetting is ON. Therefore, when the fixation flag indicates OFF and thelock flag indicates ON, the remote operation setting and the otherlock-related settings in the ON state are displayed on the BIOS screenin the change impossible state.

When the fixation flag of the remote operation setting indicates OFF(S56; NO) and the lock flag of the remote operation setting indicatesOFF (S57; NO), the setup unit 23 generates data of the BIOS screen todisplay the loaded lock-related setting information in a normal state(change possible state). The setup unit 23 sends the generated BIOSscreen data to the display controller 17 to display, on the displaymonitor, the BIOS screen (see FIG. 8) for displaying the lock-relatedsetting information in the change possible state (S59).

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the BIOS screen when thefixation flag is OFF and the lock flag is OFF. As illustrated in FIG. 8,when the fixation flag is set to OFF and the lock flag is set to OFF,the lock-related settings are displayed on the BIOS screen in the normalstate. The lock flag indicates OFF when the remote operation setting isOFF. Therefore, the remote operation setting in the OFF state isdisplayed on the BIOS screen in the change possible state, and the usercan change the remote operation setting to the ON state. When the remoteoperation setting is changed to the ON state, the change is reflected onthe BIOS setting information. When the remote operation setting ischanged to the ON state, the lock flag is changed to ON. Therefore, thestate of the remote operation setting is not allowed to change on theBIOS screen hereafter.

[Advantageous Effects of Embodiment 1]

In the embodiment 1, the BIOS setting information stored in thenon-volatile memory 14 is displayed on the BIOS screen generated by thesetup unit 23 of the BIOS 20, in the change possible state. As a result,the user of the computer 1 in the embodiment 1 can change desiredsetting information to a desired value.

However, when the remote operation setting is set to ON, the setup unit23 sets the lock flag to ON to display the remote operation setting onthe BIOS screen in the change impossible state. Conversely, when theremote operation setting is set to OFF, the setup unit 23 sets the lockflag to OFF to display the remote operation setting on the BIOS screenin the normal state.

Therefore, although the user of the computer 1 in the embodiment 1 canchange the remote operation setting from OFF to ON on the BIOS screen,the user is not allowed to change the remote operation setting from ONto OFF. As a result, the manager who has the operational policy ofenabling the remote operation functions can hand over the computer 1 tothe user in the state that the remote operation setting is set to ON,and the manager can prevent the user from changing the remote operationsetting. Obviously, the user can change the other BIOS settings from theBIOS screen, and the user may not depend on the manager for themanagement of the computer 1.

On the other hand, in the computer 1 of the embodiment 1, when thecommunication control unit 15 receives the remote operation commandtransmitted from another computer such as the server apparatus 7, atleast the remote operation setting in the BIOS setting information ischanged according to the content of the remote operation command.Specifically, the remote operation setting disable command istransmitted from the server apparatus 7, and the remote operationsetting included in the BIOS setting information of the computer 1 isset to OFF (disabled).

In this way, according to the embodiment 1, the manager can transmit theremote operation disable command from the server apparatus 7, and themanager can change, from ON to OFF, the remote operation setting that isnot allowed to change from the BIOS screen. Furthermore, when the remoteoperation setting is set to OFF, the user can change the setting of theremote operation setting to ON from the BIOS screen.

Therefore, according to the embodiment 1, the manager can appropriatelymanage the remote operation setting even if the user takes charge of theBIOS setting of the computer 1.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, when the communication controlunit 15 receives the remote operation disable fixation command, thestate of the remote operation setting is set to OFF and the fixationflag is set to ON. As a result, the lock-related settings are displayedin the change impossible state on the BIOS screen displayed by the setupunit 23 when the fixation flag is set to ON.

As a result, the manager can transmit the remote operation disablefixation command to prohibit changing the remote operation setting inthe OFF state. This is effective in fixing the setting informationrelated to the function as a target of contract to “disabled” after theend of the contract period, for example.

[Modified Example]

In the embodiment 1, the remote operation setting includes the lock flagas illustrated in FIG. 2. However, since the lock flag is linked to thestate data of the remote operation setting, the lock flag may not beincluded. In this case, the lock flag is omitted in the data structureexample of the BIOS setting information illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a modified example of the operationat the BIOS screen activation. In the modified example, the settingprocess of the lock flag of the remote operation setting (S52, S53, andS54) is omitted from the flow chart illustrated in FIG. 5, and thedetermination process of the lock flag (S57) is replaced by adetermination process of the state data of the remote operation setting(S91). More specifically, the setup unit 23 can switch the display stateof the lock-related settings based on the state data of the remoteoperation setting.

Although the embodiment 1 has illustrated the example of changing theremote operation setting by the remote operation command, the BIOSsettings other than the remote operation setting may be changed by theremote operation command, and the change possible state and the changeimpossible state of the BIOS settings may be switched.

Although the fixation flag is included in the remote operation settingin the embodiment 1, the fixation flag may not be included. In thiscase, the remote operation disable fixation command is also notsupported.

Although the BIOS setting information is the target of management in theembodiment 1, any setting information in the computer 1 can be thetarget of management instead of the BIOS setting information.

Although the BIOS is the target program in the embodiment 1, anotherprogram for executing similar processing may be the target program. Forexample, such a program may be a program like an Extensible FirmwareInterface (EFI).

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the inventionand the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, andare to be construed as being without limitation to such specificallyrecited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of suchexamples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority andinferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the presentinvention have been described in detail, it should be understood thatthe various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made heretowithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:a storage to store first setting information and second settinginformation having a valid state or an invalid state of a remoteoperation of the first setting information; a communication controllerto receive a command related to the first setting informationtransmitted from a network; a first controller to change the firstsetting information stored in the storage based on the command receivedby the communication controller; and a second controller to change atleast one of the first setting information and the second settinginformation stored in the storage unit based on an input from a userusing a setting screen displayed by a display unit, wherein the secondcontroller controls the display unit so that the display unit displaysthe setting screen in a mode that the second setting information isunable to change into the invalid state of the remote operation by aninput from a user when the second setting information has the validstate of the remote operation of the first setting information, and thesecond controller controls the display unit so that the display unitdisplays the setting screen in a mode that the second settinginformation is able to change into the valid state of the remoteoperation by an input of a user when the second setting information hasthe invalid state of the remote operation of the first settinginformation.
 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim1, wherein: the storage further stores attached information related tothe second setting information; the first controller changes the secondsetting information stored in the storage into the invalid state of theremote operation, and changes the attached information into a givenvalue based on the command received by the communication controller; andwhen the attached information stored in the storage indicates the givenvalue, the second controller controls the display unit so that thedisplay unit displays the setting screen in the mode that the secondsetting information having the invalid status is unable to change intothe valid status regardless of whether the second setting informationhas the invalid state or not.
 3. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the first controller and/or the secondcontroller cause the communication controller to stop operation when thesecond setting information is set to the invalid state.
 4. A settinginformation management method executed by an information processingapparatus, the method comprising: receiving, by using a communicationcontroller, a command related to first setting information stored in astorage from a network, wherein the storage stores the first settinginformation and second setting information having a valid state or aninvalid state of a remote operation of the first setting information;changing, by using a first controller, the first setting informationbased on the command; changing, by using a second controller, at leastone of the first setting information and the second setting informationbased on an input from a user using a setting screen displayed by adisplay unit; displaying, by using the display unit, the setting screenin a mode that the second setting information is unable to change intothe invalid state of the remote operation by an input from a user whenthe second setting information has the valid state of the remoteoperation of the first setting information; and displaying, by using thedisplay unit, the setting screen in a mode that the second settinginformation is able to change into the valid state of the remoteoperation by an input of a user when the second setting information hasthe invalid state of the remote operation of the first settinginformation.
 5. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing aprogram executed by an information processing apparatus, the programcomprising instructions of: receiving a command related to first settinginformation stored in a storage from a network, wherein the storagestores the first setting information and second setting informationhaving a valid state or an invalid state of a remote operation of thefirst setting information; changing the first setting information basedon the command; changing at least one of the first setting informationand the second setting information based on an input from a user using asetting screen displayed by a display unit; displaying, by using thedisplay unit, the setting screen in a mode that the second settinginformation is unable to change into the invalid state of the remoteoperation by an input from a user when the second setting informationhas the valid state of the remote operation of the first settinginformation; and displaying, by using the display unit, the settingscreen in a mode that the second setting information is able to changeinto the valid state of the remote operation by an input of a user whenthe second setting information has the invalid state of the remoteoperation of the first setting information.